


Before

by WanderingHobbit



Series: Yellow Tulips [6]
Category: Being Human (UK), The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: M/M, Parenthood, WinterFRE2017, that pretty much sums it up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 13:52:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9387998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanderingHobbit/pseuds/WanderingHobbit
Summary: WinterFRE2017 Prompt #113: Mitchell and Anders have to face it: it’s hard to be parents and still be lovers.





	

Before all the bottles, the diaper changes, the fussy feedings and burpings, before the late night comforting after monster-filled nightmares, before the children, it was just the two of them. Just Anders and Mitchell. Back when they were Norse god and repentant vampire, then two mortal men. Back when it was only two and not five, things were easier. Simpler. Though neither of them regretted adopting their three children, their son and twin daughters, sometimes they missed the quiet and peacefulness of before. 

 

Before the children, Anders and Mitchell had a flat to themselves where they could make love whenever and wherever they pleased. Now, they owned a decent sized home but sometimes it felt filled to the brim with children, especially when they were watching Ty and Dawn’s two young children on top of their own brood. Before parenthood, Anders could pounce on his curly-haired husband and demand that he be fucked right there and then. If he tried that now, he’d be traumatizing the children and quite possibly even scarring them for life. Before their decision to adopt, the two men had far more energy and could go at it all night if they so wished. Now, however, they were lucky if they got five minutes to themselves. Most nights consisted of waking up to tend to the needs of their young daughters or to check on their older son when he screamed in his sleep about angry eyes and hands curled into fists, memories from his previous home. 

 

The children were young and therefore needed every scrap of attention and affection they could wring from their parents. Arlo, their son, was a little over six. He was fiercely independent and at the same time heavily reliant on his fathers to fulfill his every need. The twin girls, Emilia and Eleanor, were two years old. In typical toddler fashion they wanted to do everything for themselves, in fact they insisted on it. But when either of them were tired or sick or just plain grumpy, they would demand to be waited on hand and foot, with arms crossed tight and adorable pouts on their lips. 

 

Arlo had white-blond hair and bright blue eyes, his round freckled face perpetually covered in something, whether it be dirt or food, it didn’t matter. He was only two when Mitchell and Anders adopted him. He had been taken from his biological parents and put into foster care because they weren’t able to care for him properly. He was largely neglected as he watched his mother and father constantly argue and physically fight each other often. Arlo was a scared little thing when he met the two men who would become his new parents. Mitchell, who was unbelievably tall to the tiny boy and had fierce eyebrows that made him look frightening, was intimidating at first. But Arlo soon saw underneath what he assumed was a scary exterior; he saw the sunshine bright smiles and laughing eyes and felt the warm hugs and for the first time he felt safe and secure. It didn’t take long after that for the little boy to warm up to Anders and soon they were a happy family of three. 

 

Emilia and Eleanor were adopted at birth four years later, given up by their sixteen-year-old birth mother who knew she wouldn’t be able to care for them financially at her tender age. The girls were identical with their ash-brown hair, usually tied up in pigtails, and jewel-green eyes. They were very loud for such tiny creatures and enjoyed giving their fathers’ frequent heart attacks on the daily ( _“Do you think it’s like frequent flyer miles? Like, will I get a free hospital stay after I reach one hundred of them?”_ Anders would say jokingly). 

 

Anders and Mitchell loved their three children whole heartedly, but sometimes they missed the quiet of before. Anders especially missed the regular sex. Now he felt like he or his husband would have to pencil it in their busy schedules between work and homework and dance class for the girls. Neither man realized just how hard and time consuming parenting small children could be. 

 

—————

 

Normally Anders didn’t work weekends. He usually stayed home with his family and attempted to watch movies and spend time with the kids, but the girls were always more interested in trying to climb the bookshelves while Arlo ran around the kitchen, demanding string cheese or a juice box. More often than not the adults ended up passed out the couch when the children crashed at nap time. Of course this only happened after a lot of howling and wrestling and promises of _just for ten minutes, we will wake you up after ten minutes please just sleep._

 

Anders walked in the front door, just having gotten home after an impromptu lunch meeting with a needy client. As soon as he walked in he noticed his husband sprawled on his back on the living room floor, one arm flung over his eyes in defeat. The twins were climbing all over him like he was their own personal jungle gym and Arlo was staring entranced at whatever horrible kids show was on the television at the moment. 

 

No one seemed to notice his arrival so Anders took the whole scene in, biting the inside of his cheek in a bid to keep silent. There were graham crackers strewn across the floor, crumbs crushed into the carpet, half-full sippy-cups leaking on the coffee table, and the girls yelling something indecipherable while they clambered over their prone father. Through all of this, Arlo stared at the TV with a blank expression on his face, his string cheese lay forgotten at his feet. 

 

Anders shook his head and grinned. “I’m gone for less than two hours and this whole house falls apart,” he says. 

 

Emilia and Eleanor immediately pause in their play and look up at the sound of their dad’s voice. Mitchell peeks up at Anders from under his arm, looking helpless and begging for aid. “Save me from this hell hole of naughty children.”

 

“What happened?” Anders asks as he steps around the food on the floor and hefts one piggy-tailed toddler under his arm. 

 

Mitchell sits up and places the other girl on the ground next to him. “Emmy and Ellie thought if they held me down, I wouldn’t be able to force nap time on them.”

 

“Well, it’s a good thing I came home in time to rescue daddy and get you two rascals down for a nap!” Anders said as he tweaked Emmy’s nose. She giggled before realizing what he said.

 

“Noooo!” she whined, which in turn got her sister yowling, too.

 

Anders and Mitchell carried the two toddlers up the stairs during mid tantrum, all to the chorus of “no” and “please don’t make me” and “you’re a poopy-head.” All the while, Arlo was tuned out to the rest of the world as his show continued to play.

 

—————

 

After wrestling with the twins and reading a short story out of their favorite story book, then giving in to their demands of _just one more please,_ Anders and Mitchell had finally gotten the girls to sleep for their nap. They quietly walked back to the living room to find Arlo had actually curled up on the floor in front of the television and fallen asleep on his own. Mitchell sighed in relief as he plopped down on the sofa as quietly as he could manage while Anders gently draped a blanket over their sleeping son.

 

“Thank Jesus,” he whispered, eyes closed and head resting against the back of the couch. 

 

Anders smiled at his husband as he slipped down next to him, curling into his side and laying his head against the taller man’s chest, listening to his heart beat. “At least it’s quiet now.”

 

“Hmm,” Mitchell hummed tiredly as he wrapped an arm around Anders and lightly rubbed his back, making gently patterns with the pads of his fingertips. The two men fell asleep cuddled together on the couch, thankful for the silence and for sleeping children. 

 

—————

 

The peace didn’t last long, however. It never did in the Mitchell-Johnson house. The twins were up a little over an hour later, energized after their nap and ready to cause more havoc and destruction. Arlo woke up to the sound of his sisters’ running around upstairs and hollering at the baby gate for someone to let them out. Now that his show was over, Arlo was back to his usual activities which included racing around outside barefoot in his pretend play. 

 

Anders and Mitchell resigned themselves to cleaning the living room from the earlier disaster created while the blond was at lunch with a client. After they had vacuumed and wiped down the coffee table and moved all the toys back into the downstairs playroom, they went their separate ways to spend some time with the children and hopefully prevent more messes.

 

Mitchell made his way outside where Arlo was running around and jumping, engaged in pretend combat with fake pirates attempting to take over his ship. The Irishman quickly became the pirate in his son’s play and the two dashed around the backyard, thrusting styrofoam swords at each other and laughing.

 

Inside, Anders went into the playroom and was immediately given a plastic tiara to wear and forced to sit at the tiny pink table and have a tea party with Eleanor and Emilia. He sipped on the pretend tea (which was really just apple juice) as he chatted about princessy things with his daughters. They giggled at Anders’ attempt at a posh English accent and then Ellie tried it for herself which had Anders laughing in turn. 

 

—————

 

After engaging in play with the kids for a couple of hours, Anders and Mitchell retired to the living room once more, cuddled together on the couch with a movie playing in the background. Arlo, Emilia, and Eleanor were playing together quietly in the playroom, giving their fathers’ some much needed peace. 

 

“I love you,” Anders said quietly, his head once again resting against his husband’s chest. 

 

“I love you, too, darlin’,” Mitchell replied as he pulled the blond in tighter against him.

 

“I miss being able to spend time with you, just us. No responsibilities outside of work, and doing whatever we wanted without having to worry about children.” Anders sighed, pausing for a moment as he listened to the beat of his husband’s heart. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the kids more than anything, but I miss you.”

 

Mitchell kissed the top of Anders’ head before replying. “I understand, I miss you, too. Maybe we can pawn the children off on one of your brothers this weekend for at least a few hours, that way we can do something just the two of us.”

 

“We could just stay here and fuck all day,” Anders said, looking up at Mitchell with a decidedly wicked gleam in his blue eyes.

 

“I like the sound of that,” Mitchell whispered huskily before kissing the blond, hard. 

 

The two quickly got caught up in each other as they kissed, Anders’ fingers twined in Mitchell’s curls and Mitchell’s arms wrapped tightly around his waist. They were so wrapped up in their heated embrace that they failed to hear the small pitter-patter of children’s feet running down the hardwood floor of the hallway, heading for the living room. They broke apart suddenly at the sound of a loud gasp.

 

“Why are you eating each other’s faces off?!” Arlo asked loudly, his face a picture of confusion and concern. The girls yelling “eww!” behind him didn’t help matters much.

 

“Nothing, Arlo. We were just kissing,” Anders tried to explain to the little boy.

 

“That’s gross!” he shouted. 

 

“Kissing is yucky!” Ellie agreed, Emmy nodding vigorously next to her. 

 

Mitchell sighed dramatically, falling back against the couch and Anders could only chuckle at the expression on his children’s faces and his husband’s reaction to being caught kissing by his kids. “Little shits,” he said quietly after he shooed the three back off to the playroom with the promise of having dinner soon. 

 

—————

 

The two men had to get dinner ready, which was never an easy task as the three children could never decide on what to eat and it usually resulted in at least one child pouting and refusing to eat what was on their plate. Being as tired as they were and hoping for an early bedtime for the children so they could spend quality time together, Anders and Mitchell decided to go with something quick and easy, something that children would all eat without kicking up a fuss. 

 

Hoping that grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup would do the trick, Anders prepared the food while Mitchell ushered the three kids up the stairs to wash their hands and whatever that sticky substance all over the girls’ faces happened to be. By the time Mitchell was finished with the water fight against the children, his husband had finished with dinner. The Irishman trailed behind the three rascals, his shirt slightly damp and his curly hair a mess. Anders smiled softly and reached up and gently ran his fingers through the dark tangles in an attempt to tame it once more. 

 

Dinner was much enjoyed by Arlo and the twins and the three happily munched away on their cheese sandwiches, chattering like birds throughout the meal. Once they had eaten their fill, Anders took the three upstairs to help them brush their teeth and change into their pajamas. Mitchell would join him soon after clearing the dishes away to help hold the girls down so they could brush their hair out of the knots and snarls it had turned into throughout the day. 

 

Finally Arlo and Emilia and Eleanor were dressed and brushed and ready for bed. The family of five trooped back down the stairs so the kids could watch a movie before bedtime. They bickered and pushed each other and called the others names, but in the end a Disney movie was chosen and they all hunkered down to watch it. 

 

Thankfully by the end of the movie, the girls had dozed off and Arlo’s eyes were heavy with sleep. Mitchell picked Ellie and Emmy up in his arms and they cuddled closer against his chest. Anders scooped Arlo up and followed his husband up the stairs and into the kids bedrooms. He tucked Arlo in bed and kissed his forehead and whispered _I love you,_ then went off to wish the girls sweet dreams as well. Once Mitchell had done the same, the two men changed into sweats and baggy tee shirts and brushed their teeth before collapsing on the couch in the living room once more. 

 

“Please tell me one of your brothers has agreed to take on our small pack of wildlings this weekend,” Mitchell whined, his eyes begging his husband to give him some good news.

 

“Dawn and Ty are picking them up Saturday morning and bringing them back Sunday evening.”

 

“Thank the gods.”

 

—————

 

The rest of the week fairly flew by and Saturday morning arrived much to the delight of Anders and Mitchell. The packed overnight bags for the children and extorted promises that the three would behave for Auntie Dawn and Uncle Ty. The three were excited to visit their two cousins, Finn and Abby, who were close in age to them.

 

Ty showed up after breakfast and was welcomed with squeals and hugs by his nieces and nephew and grateful looks from his brother and brother-in-law. The three men managed to buckle the children into their car seats in record time and Anders and Mitchell bid farewell to their children before Ty drove off. 

 

All plans of fucking the day away were forgotten as Anders and Mitchell fell on their bed and almost immediately passed out. The two men cuddled together as they slept without interruption for the first time in awhile and only woke up a few hours later. Even then they decided to get some deep cleaning done now that they didn’t have three little tornadoes whirling around behind them, destroying everything in their path.

 

By the time they got around to the one activity they were most looking forward to, night had fallen outside. Mitchell led his husband to the bathroom and turned the shower on, deciding they could wash themselves up after a day of cleaning and have hot, passionate sex at the same time. _Two birds with one stone,_ he said. 

 

Anders didn’t hold back his moans or curses like he normally would now that they had to the house themselves. The sex was loud and soapy and desperate, the sexual frustration that had been pent up between them for weeks finally spilling over as they collided, taking each other to new heights once more. 

 

They spent much of the following morning and afternoon wrapped around each other in their bedroom. Not knowing when they’d have alone time again, Anders and Mitchell barely let the other out of their sights more than necessary. Only an hour before Ty was due to arrive with the kids did the lovers finally roll out of bed and made to get dressed.

 

Ty showed up with bags under his eyes and his short hair in absolute disarray. Apparently he and Dawn didn’t get much sleep the night before due to the combined efforts of the five wee heathens making it their mission to be as loud as humanly possible. Anders stood at the front door chatting with his younger brother as Arlo and his sisters rushed into the living room to greet their Irish father. 

 

Mitchell allowed them to tackle him to the floor and crawl all over him while screaming like barbarians. He would play wrestle one to the floor and hold them down while tickling them mercilessly and the other two would attempt a daring rescue of their sibling. Anders walked in to high pitched giggles from his children and a low chuckle from his husband. He leaned against the wall as he watched the four of them tussle about, wrestling and tickling and laughing, and at that moment, Anders knew. 

 

He knew that as much as he and Mitchell complained that they didn’t get enough time together, that the children were sometimes obnoxious and caused headaches and horrible messes, he wouldn’t want it any other way. Watching Mitchell play with their children made his heart swell with so much love and affection for all of them. He knew the children would grow up quickly; soon they’d be surly and rebellious teenagers, having their hearts broken for the first time and learning how to stand up for themselves. Then they’d be young adults, heading off for college and preparing themselves for their futures and no longer needing their daddies to lean on and support them. 

 

One day, all three children would grow up and leave the nest, leaving Anders and Mitchell to spend the rest of their lives together doing whatever they wished. But for right now, they were his babies. Arlo and Eleanor and Emilia were all small children who needed their two fathers’ to love and care for them and teach them as they grew. These three tiny people who held both Anders and Mitchell’s hearts in their little fists were the world to him. 

 

Maybe Anders and Mitchell just had to face it: it is hard to be parents and still be lovers. But at the end of the day, it was all worth it. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was so much fun to write and I hope you all enjoy reading it!


End file.
